EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED. The COBRE Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience (CSFN) was established at the University of Montana in 2000 for the dual purposes of: i) advancing our understanding of CNS protein structure and function and ii) increasing the number of NIH funded investigators in Montana, particularly in the field of neuroscience. In addition to the University of Montana (Missoula), the CSFN also includes faculty from Montana State University (Bozeman) and the McLaughlin Research Institute (Great Falls). Since its establishment, the CSFN has fostered a remarkable increase in the critical mass of investigators, their success in garnering extramural funding, and the resources necessary to support nationally competitive biomedical research in Montana. In many respects the first COBRE award period served exceptionally well to create a solid foundation of scientists and infrastructure. The goal of this renewal is to continue building on these advances to the point where the CSFN becomes an independent center that not only enhances the quantity and quality of individual research efforts, but also exploits its multidisciplinary strength to successfully develop novel collaborative ROls, as well as begins to compete for larger multi-investigator awards. To continue building on the successes of COBRE CSFN and have a long-range impact on the quantity and quality of biomedical research in Montana, we specifically propose the following Aims: Aim I Enhance the critical mass of competitive neuroscientists within the CSFN through strategic recruitment of four new faculty. j Aim II Promote the development of neuroscience faculty and multidisciplinaryresearch through the support of individual Sub-Projects Aim III Enhance the infrastructure for neuroscience and campus-wide research through the support of Core Resource Facilities Aim IV Establish a support network for Center neuroscientists that promotes infrastructure development, mentoring, collaborativeinteractions, multi-investigator project developmentand assessment